Down 2-0 against the Boston Celtics in the opening round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks need to figure things out and fast. As opposed to the regular season, adjustments in the playoffs have to be made quickly and are for the most part, largely matchup-based.
One of the adjustments Bucks interim head coach Joe Prunty saw fit against Boston has been limiting the playing time of forward Jabari Parker. Unsurprisingly, Parker has taken issue with his demotion to a lesser bench role and let it be known. Following from ABC Wisconsin’s Stephen Watson:
Jabari Parker was very animated talking about his frustration right now with limited minutes. He mentioned the only way to see the floor more was to be on the “coach’s good side”. When asked if he was on Prunty’s good side, he smirked and said “I don’t think so.” #Bucks
— Stephen Watson (@WISN_Watson) April 19, 2018
In the first two games against Boston, Jabari Parker has played 10 minutes and 15 minutes respectively, a far cry from the 24 minutes per game he was receiving in the regular season.
Many perceived Parker’s playing time in the regular season as sparse but those minutes have diminished even further in the postseason. Parker returned from a torn ACL at the beginning of February so the low minutes were expected to be strictly precautionary but evidently not.
When fully healthy and engaged, Jabari Parker is a skilled and capable NBA player. Selected second overall in 2014, he fits the mold of today’s modern power forward and has shown off his scoring prowess from the inside and outside.
His marriage with the Bucks has simply not been up to par and a lot of that has to do with his rocky injury history. Since his early and current injury issues, Milwaukee really hasn’t been able to trust him and have thus used him sparingly even when healthy. Either way, the odds of Parker remaining a Buck through his free agency period this summer were already slim and are now looking to be almost nonexistent.
